HBO Releases First Look at ‘Westworld’

The mind of novelist Michael Crichton has given us a wealth of memorable stories that also have the benefits of being thought-provoking and dazzling. He made quite an impact with The Andromeda Strain, giving us a techno-thriller with a taste of oddly realistic science fiction. He thrilled audiences again with works like Congo, Sphere, and of course, Jurassic Park. Before his later success, though, he wrote and directed a film called Westworld in 1973, which posited a theme park that brought the wild west to life with advanced robots. Much like Jurassic Park, though, something went wrong, and the tourists quickly became victims.

Westworld continues to be a well-regarded work on up through today, and now, it will be adapted by new, very capable filmmakers. With Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception) behind the wheel, “Westworld” is being transformed into a new, modern mini-series on HBO, and the network has just released a first look at the new series. See it below.

Starring the likes of Anthony Hopkins, James Marsden, Evan Rachel Wood, and Jeffrey Wright, “Westworld” has been described as “a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin.” This will actually be the second adaptation of Crichton’s original film, with a short-lived TV series, “Beyond Westworld,” having aired briefly in 1980 when it was canceled after only five episodes, were produced, with only three of those actually making it to air. With this latest adaptation, Jonathan Nolan directed the pilot, and will continue to oversee the rest of the series with his producing partner Lisa Joy. J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk of Bad Robot Productions are also attached as executive producers.

It’s not yet known how many episodes will encompass the new series or when exactly it’ll air next year, but it certainly looks as though HBO are putting a lot of top-level resources into it, and it definitely looks worthy of a look. For more on this show as it takes shape, keep it locked on GeekNation!